The Lost Phone: A Story About Mimicking Others’ Lies

Arjun and Kabir were good friends who shared a lot of interests. They played soccer together, loved the same video games, and always walked home from school. But one thing Arjun didn’t know about Kabir was that he sometimes bent the truth to get out of sticky situations.

 

One afternoon, after their soccer practice, Arjun’s phone suddenly went missing. He looked all over his bag and around the field, but it was nowhere to be found. Worried, he asked Kabir for advice.

 

Kabir shrugged and said, “Just tell your parents that someone stole it. They’ll never know, and that way, you won’t get in trouble.”

 

Arjun hesitated. “But that’s not true. What if I just tell them I lost it?”

 

Kabir rolled his eyes. “It’s just a small lie. Besides, I’ve told my parents things like this before, and it always works! They won’t be as mad if they think it was stolen.”

 

Arjun didn’t feel completely right about it, but he thought Kabir seemed so sure, so he decided to go along with it. When he got home, his older sister, Priya, asked him about his day. Arjun took a deep breath and nervously told her, “Um… my phone got stolen at school.”

 

Priya looked surprised and concerned. “Oh no! Are you okay? Did you tell a teacher? Should we call the police?”

 

Question: How do you think Arjun felt when Priya believed his lie and got so concerned?

 

Arjun felt uneasy as Priya insisted they tell their parents. When his mom heard, she immediately called the school, asking for a report on what had happened. Arjun felt his stomach tighten. This was getting much bigger than he’d imagined.

 

The next day, Kabir asked him, “Did it work? Are you in the clear?”

 

Arjun sighed. “I don’t know. My parents are making a huge deal out of it. They’re talking to the school and thinking about calling the police!”

 

Kabir laughed nervously. “Oh… I didn’t think it would go that far.”

 

After a few days of school investigating the “stolen phone” report, Arjun started feeling more and more guilty. Every time his mom asked him for updates or his sister worriedly told him to be more careful, he felt worse. Eventually, Arjun couldn’t keep up the lie any longer.

 

That evening, he gathered his family and confessed. “I’m really sorry. I… I wasn’t telling the truth. I didn’t lose my phone because it was stolen. I just lost it, and I didn’t want to get in trouble. I only said it was stolen because… I copied Kabir’s idea.”

 

His parents were disappointed but appreciated his honesty. His dad said, “I’m glad you told us the truth, but remember, even a small lie can grow out of control.”

 

Question: How do you think Arjun felt after finally telling the truth to his family?

 

Arjun learned that lying—especially copying someone else’s lie—only made things worse for him. His family appreciated that he owned up to the truth, but he realized it would have been much simpler if he had just been honest from the start.

 

Moral: Mimicking someone else’s lie might seem easy, but it can quickly spiral into a bigger problem. Honesty, even when it’s hard, is always the best choice.